Our happiness is not something that happens to us. It is something you and I have control over. God’s Word has so much to teach us about how we can make choices that will help us to experience not only his perfect plan for our lives, but his peace and joy and contentment. This book …
Author Archives: Jonathan Kobayashi
32582 Obeying to Get a Blessing
Why did the Israelites repeatedly worship other gods, even after experiencing God’s dramatic deliverance from Egypt through plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and food falling from heaven in the desert? Perhaps they wanted more control. The appeal of an idol is its simplicity. If you follow the rules, you can expect to get …
32583 Obeying to Fulfill Duty
When signing up for a new account online, have you ever read the small print statement before clicking the “I accept” button? The authors of those documents try to cover every possible contingency. Imagine, then, if the Christian life was similar and had a rule for every scenario a person could ever face. How thick …
32584 Obeying to Avoid Punishment
Jesus said that He “came that [those who follow him] may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, NASB). Living to just not get in trouble, however, is pretty far from abundant life. Imagine a teacher whose ideal student is simply one who doesn’t get sent to the principal’s office. We would question whether that teacher …
32585 Obeying to Demonstrate Love
“Just accept me for who I am.” “Don’t judge.” “I just want to be loved and accepted, not preached at.” We are often quick to take offense at the perceived arrogance of someone who tries to tell us how to live our lives. We easily presume that authentic love requires others to fully accept how …
32581 Obeying God Faithfully
Obedience? Isn’t our life with Jesus a relationship and not a list of rules? It’s funny isn’t it—we’d never begin a romantic relationship with someone who said we had to both love and obey them. In fact, if our new significant other said, “Now that we’re dating, I expect you to obey me,” we’d set …
65509 9. Pride: It’s All About Me
It is no accident that we start our tour of the sin families with the sin of pride. In some sense, pride is the foundational sin. As Bible commentator William Barclay declared, “Pride is the ground in which all the other sins grow, and the parent from which all rebellion against God’s commands. Pride may …
65510 10. Fear: From Doubt to Dread
Fuss and feverishness, anxiety, intensity, intolerance, instability, pessimism and wobble, and every kind of hurry and worry—these, even on the highest levels,” declared spiritual writer Evelyn Underhill, “are signs of the self-made and self-acting soul; the spiritual parvenu.”1 A parvenu is someone who has been raised to a new position but has not yet acquired …
65511 11. Anger: When Mad Is Bad
Some years ago, I (Henry) traveled to Zimbabwe for a conference and spoke about forgiveness. Afterward, a couple asked to speak with me in private. They were from Uganda, and they told me their story. During the brutal reign of Uganda’s Idi Amin, the couple received a note telling them that their twenty-six-year-old son had …
65512 12. Overindulgence: Enough Is Not Enough
In my (Henry’s) early years, one of my biggest problems was with drinking. Though I grew up in a Christian home where drinking was frowned upon, I rebelled in my teenage years and started drinking in bars, at parties, and in the homes of my friends. Early signs of the danger in this lifestyle did …
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